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15/03/2021

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan @VaseemKhanUK @mulhollandbooks #BabyGanesh

 

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan was published on 31st December 2015 by Mulholland Books. It is the first book in the Baby Ganesh Agency series.
On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra inherits two unexpected mysteries.

The first is the case of a drowned boy, whose suspicious death no one seems to want solved. And the second is a baby elephant.

As his search for clues takes him across the teeming city of Mumbai, from its grand high rises to its sprawling slums and deep into its murky underworld, Chopra begins to suspect that there may be a great deal more to both his last case and his new ward than he thought.

And he soon learns that when the going gets tough, a determined elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs. . . 
My Thoughts: 
 
I am a recent reader of Vaseem Khan. In fact this is the first book I have read by this author. I purchased it after a recommendation by a fellow blogger, a recommendation I am pleased I listened to. I think that Inspector Ashwin Chopra is now in the list of my literary heroes. 
 
Inspector Ashwin Chopra is winding down, honest, dependable and reliable with rock solid morals he has finally reached his retirement. Trouble is he doesn't quite know what he is going to do with himself, so when two mysteries arrive he is first in the line for one last hurrah
 
What Inspector Chopra hadn't expected however was to be accompanied in his pursuits by a baby elephant called Ganesh. One of the more unusual retirement presents I am sure we would all agree. Chopra is really not sure about Ganesh at first. I mean what exactly does one do with a baby elephant anyway. Across the book though a bond forms, begrudgingly at first but it is soon there for all to see.
 
This book is an absolute triumph and a piece of pure escapism. It honestly brought me utter joy, there was the warmth of the characters and a particular mention must also go to Inspector Chopra's wife Poppy who was a delight. 
 
Don't get me wrong there is also a dark underside to this story, a story of poverty and underbelly of Mumbai. A darker side that the author is not afraid to shy away from but the portrait was painted of a landscape in all of its shades. 
 
If you are looking for something that moves along at the pace of a Formula 1 car then this might not be for you but if you are on the hunt for something memorable and that bit different then I would implore you to give this one a go. 
      
About the Author: 

Vaseem Khan first saw an elephant lumbering down the middle of the road in 1997 when he arrived in India to work as a consultant. It was the most unusual thing he’d ever encountered and served as the inspiration behind his series of crime novels.

He returned to the UK in 2006 and now works at University College London for the Department of Security and Crime Science where he is astonished daily by the way modern science is being employed to tackle crime.
You can find the author on Twitter: VaseemKhanUK
or on his website: www.vaseemkhan.com


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